There’s a lot that’s good, even great, on the stands this New Comic Book Day, but only one comic can be our number one pick. Let’s see who topped the list, shall we?
10) A&A: The Adventures Of Archer And Armstrong #2
A hunt for Armstrong’s precious bottle of Lagavulin 1906 has, of course, gone horribly wrong as Armstrong takes Archer on a tour of his satchel and his emotional mistakes. Rafer Roberts has a good time riffing here as Armstrong, the very personification of a galoot, keeps making the same dumb decisions throughout history. He’s also often scathingly funny, especially when booze, and the consumption of the terrible stuff, is involved.
David LaFuente, meanwhile, has enormous fun with what Roberts throws at him, whether it’s a talking fish, an angry Roman demigod, or a monkey piloting a robot being fought by ninja nuns. You heard it. It’s a densely wacky, highly entertaining action comedy, and especially on this New Comic Book Day (which is kind of light on fun books) that’s a must.
9) Moon Knight #1
Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood have brought back Marvel’s beloved Egyptian vigilante as the protagonist in a tense thriller where you’re forced to question just how stable our hero really is. Here’s our full review.
8) Negative Space #4
Ryan Lindsay and Owen Gieni finish up what might be one of the strangest books in recent memory. Our hero, Guy, discovers a secret conspiracy creating depression to feed vicious bloodthirsty aliens who feed on our emotions. Guy is overweight, gay, sensitive, and, it turns out, possibly the only person who can save us from the aliens and ourselves. But it’s going to cost him.
Lindsay’s musing on depression is surprisingly thoughtful given the absurd goings-on elsewhere in the comic, and Gieni wraps up the issue with some of his best work. His gross, goopy aliens are neat, sure, but it’s really the faces that make this book. When Guy has a realization of the spot he’s in, Gieni renders it with a simple look that’s heartbreaking. You won’t read an odder book this week (although there’s one on this list that comes close) and you’ll remember it for a long, long time.
7) Constantine: The Hellblazer #11
John Constantine has been evicted, along with every other magic user who doesn’t suit the needs of the demon Neron, out of New York. So he’s gone to LA, which he hates, to drown his sorrows. Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV turn this into a metaphorical look at what happens when a certain class of people are priced out of a city; how do they adapt? How do they stay true to themselves when they’ve defined themselves, at least in part, by where they live? What does that city lose by forcing them out? And what happens when Deadman decides he’s going to drag your ass back to New York whether you want it or not?
The art team, led by Travel Foreman and Riley Rossmo, oblige with a sunbleached crap-scape that really underlines how much Constantine hates LA. Ivan Plascencia, on colors, in particular, does a nice, subtle job of portraying everything from the nature of the place to the theme parks as being just a little too bright and plastic to have any heft. In all, it’s a smart, gorgeous book that gives DC’s main superhero line a welcome injection of maturity and compromised morals.
6) Silver Surfer #3
Norrin Radd has a choice to make: The perfection of Zenn-La, his homeworld, or the messiness of Earth. And it’s a lot tougher than you might think. Dan Slott has always had a great command of both Marvel continuity and the heart and soul of the characters he’s writing, and his run on Silver Surfer has been no exception. Here, though, he combines it with larger concerns about the importance of culture, and puts the Surfer in an impossible position.
All of this is backed by Michael and Laura Allred delivering some of the most joyous, beautiful art you’ll see in a Marvel comic. Allred calls back to Marvel’s Kirby-filled past in the designs while giving this book some great action and some real heart, to boot.
5) Gotham Academy #17
The ‘Yearbook’ arc, a series of anthology comics detailing the shorter misadventures of the Gotham Academy crew, finishes strong with this issue. Featuring talents such as Michael Dialynas, Colleen Coover, and Annie Wu, it tells some short, funny, and even creepy stories of Gotham’s best boarding school, all framed by our heroines tracking down a stolen scrapbook. As always, this book makes great use of Gothic tropes and teenage behavior, and it’s often charming beyond all belief. It’s an ideal palette cleanser after some of this week’s heavier books, and a good way into comics if you’re new to the medium.
4) Black Road #1
Brian Wood and Garry Brown have an interesting setting, here: Norway, as it’s being bloodily converted to Christianity. Brown’s art is suitably greyish and rough-hewn, giving the book an earthy feel, while Wood’s script has its usual collection of fascinating characters. Magnus The Black, the Viking hired to escort a priest up the Black Road of the title, is perhaps a bit of a liability, as he’s more tour guide than hero in this first issue, but the results are hard to argue with, especially for action fans.
3) No Mercy #9
The simple reality of being a teenager in America is that you have no rights. If your parents think you’re broken, whether it’s because you’re telling them a truth they can’t hear or have a sexuality or gender identity they won’t accept, truly horrible things can be done to you with nobody the wiser. Usually given the euphemism “rehabilitation facilities” or “troubled teen schools,” these hellholes some parents send their kids too are thankfully being shut down more and more often. But not quickly enough, which is why Alex DiCampi and Carla Speed McNeil take a detour from their overarching thriller poking holes in the delusions of rich kids to focus on Charlene.
This isn’t a lighthearted read, obviously. DiCampi makes a point of underscoring just how scarring all of this is. Charlene makes some horrendous choices in the main story, but reading this forces you to go back and evaluate why she made those decisions. McNeil, meanwhile, gives it all a grounded, blunt style that feels like a documentary on paper. It’s the kind of comic that reminds you just how valuable the art form is, and why No Mercy is one of Image’s best thrillers.
2) Harrow County #11
Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook once again deliver a mix of wholesome Americana and unnerving folk tale in this issue. Stepping away from protagonist Emmy to focus on her friend, Bernice, was a great choice, as it shifts the focus from the powerful to the everyday. Of course, Bernice is no less wrapped up in the dangerous goings-on of Harrow County, and Bunn uses the metaphor of poisonous snakes to linger on how people can not only form the wrong idea about someone, but how that idea can stew in your mind even when you know it shouldn’t.
All of this is ably supported, once again, by Crook’s stunning line work and rich watercolors. Part of the reason this book is so creepy is that Crook has a gift for rendering ugly things in a beautiful way. If you’re in the mood for a clever bit of horror, this is once again your book.
1) Kennel Block Blues #3
What started out as a bizarre cross between a hard-bitten prison story and a funny animal book from Ryan Ferrier and Daniel Bayliss is turned, in this issue, into a story about being abandoned by the people you rely on because they fall apart. It turns out that Oliver isn’t just a “funny animal,” and the brutal prison of Jackson Kennel is much closer to reality than we thought.
But once again, this is Bayliss’ show. Bayliss is one of the best artists working right now, and this book is simultaneously beautiful and tragic under his pen. He’s been filling this book with bizarre visual flourishes for three issues, but it gives other bits, like a spare, simple collection of panels set in the “real world,” a sad honesty you won’t soon forget. This is the issue that elevates this book from strange idea to great story, so if you haven’t tried it already, give it a read.